Introduction: Weedless frogs are a blast to fish with when the
top-water bite is hot. It's just a thrill to see a bass engulf the frog in
an explosive charge! Harrison Hoge Industries has been selling frog lures
for bass fishing for over 40 years. They have re-designed and improved
upon what has been catching fish in the previous years and introduces a brand
new "Superior Frog." The Harrison Hoge Superior Frog comes from the same
people who bring you Panther Martin lures.

Harrison Hoge
Superior Frog Specifications

Material

Soft-durable rubber

Colors

5
available

Weight

3/8
and 5/8oz.

MSRP

$2.49

Impressions: Many frogs use a double hook design that faces
upward to make themselves weedless. The Harrison Hoge Superior Frog is
different. This frog is an improvement on the legendary Bill Plummer's
Super Frog. There's a single sharp 5/0 Mustad hook on the belly of the
Superior Frog and a double wire weed guard to prevent it from snags when fished
in heavy vegetation. The legs are designed to dangle in the water like the
real thing. Another thing to note is the body, its solid and made from
soft-durable rubber that is not too hard nor too soft. When squeezing the
Superior Frog with your fingers, you will notice how elastic the rubber is; this
gives it a more realistic feel to the fish.

We put the hook
where the fish are, not where they aren't," states Cecil C. Hoge, Jr.,
President of Harrison-Hoge Industries, Inc.

After speaking to Mr. Hoge he explained how having the hook on the bottom
would increase your chances in hooking the fish with this design. Like
many top-water lures for the open water the hooks are not placed on top, they
are usually hanging on the bottom for a good reason. The fish strikes the
bait from the bottom-up, not the other way around.

Tests: First things
first. Since the Harrison Hoge Superior Frog is a top water lure I first
dropped it into the lake and analyzed how the frog floated. The Superior
Frog had a little more than half of its body in the water with the rear end
being slightly heavier. Thus creating a posture of how a real frog would
be sitting afloat in the water.

The eyes are at
the waterline and the legs are relaxed dangling in the water bent at the
knees

Taking a closer look I noticed the eyes are always at the
waterline. If you have ever watched a live frog sitting in the water not
moving, the eyes are always right at the waterline or millimeters right above
that level to watch for predators. Harrison Hoge designed the Superior
Frog as close to a living frog as possible.

Complete Rig for
the Harrison Hoge Superior Frog

Rod

Hookhider IM8 Pro Series (147C)

Reel

Quantum Energy PT (E600PT)

Line

12lb.
Trilene XL

Casting: Both the 3/8 and 5/8oz. Superior Frogs cast far and
accurate. I was able to easily cast the frogs about 90 feet from Zander's
Nitro with a sideways cast. You might expect the legs to get in the way or
create a great deal of air resistance, but surprisingly it did not. One
very important thing with all frogs, it must ALWAYS land on its belly... the
Superior Frog does exactly that. I was casting the frog in all possible
ways I know and I even tossed it hard towards a rock wall at the lake.
Each time the frog landed on its belly, just like a cat always landing on all
four legs.

Retrieving: When the Superior Frog is retrieved you will
notice something that's pretty exciting. The legs that used to be bent are now
stretched out like the frog is actually kicking. You can retrieve the
Superior Frog slow, fast, or which ever style you like to fish top water
frogs.

The kicking legs
in action on the retrieve!

Okay, during the winter it's pretty tough to find weeds or lily pads in
the local lakes to test the weedless Superior Frog. I found a "bush"
sticking out of the water so I proceeded to toss the frog there and see if I can
get it snagged, but I couldn't get the frog to catch anything. Maybe the
small amount of weeds were not enough to catch the hook on. Later on I
kept on casting the Superior Frog on a thick lawn. After each cast I would
take a close look at the hook to see if there were any grass on it. Again
I was not able to snag anything. This frog is weedless. (I will conduct
additional tests when there are more weeds in the water and will update my
findings if there are any changes. Some might want to know if the frog
landed on its belly on the lawn? Yes it did!)

Winter-time frog fish?: I was out testing the frog this
weekend. I did not expect to catch anything since it's winter time.
The weather was cold in the morning, but it quickly warmed up to the low
70s. The water temperature at the North part of the lake was reaching
around 65F while other parts were still 50s.

An aggressive bass
falls victim to the Superior Frog

I kept on casting the weedless Superior Frog in the shallows near
sub-merged trees and other nearby structure when all of the sudden a largemouth
bass darted towards the frog and took it. I waited until there was slight
resistance before I set the hook. BAM! Fish on!

Ratings:

Superior Frog
Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality

Quality soft-durable rubber, sharp Mustad hook

8

Performance

Kicks
like the real thing, always lands on its belly, casts far, snagless
allowing trouble-free weed fishing, sits in the water nicely

9

Price

The
Superior Frog is much less than others

8.5

Features

Double wire weed guard keeps it weedless

8

Design
(Ergonomics)

Five
good colors designed to match the vegetation, life-like body and
legs

9.2

Application

Works
like super frog, but better!

8.5

Total Score

8.53

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus
Minus

J
Life-like movements!

L
Weed guard can come off the hook if it
lands on a hard surface

J
Durable-soft rubber

J
Good price

J
Weedless

Conclusion: The Superior Frogs are one of Harrison Hoge's
latest lures introduced this year. After a re-design this frog leaped
forward with improvements and performance over the Bill Plummer's Super Frog
that sold very well for many years. We at TackleTour definitely expected
the Superior Frog to perform better than the Super Frog, and we were not
disappointed. This frog can really move in the water, and key to its appeal is
its remarkably lifelike looks and action.